Excerpt from a new interview with Geoff Johns where he talks about the villain he like to see and the direction he'd like the sequel to take!

From ComicMix:

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Wed Jun 11, 2008 — by Jami Philbrick

Interview: Geoff Johns on the Return of Brainiac in Action Comics
The superstar writer talks about Brainiac's return to the DCU and all things Superman
Writer Geoff Johns is best known for re-imagining some of the most beloved heroes in the history of the DCU.

With his work on such books as Infinite Crisis, 52, Green Lantern, Booster Gold, Teen Titans and Justice Society Of America, Johns has “re-booted” some of DC’s most beloved classic heroes, including Hal Jordan, Booster Gold, Power Girl, The Teen Titans and The JSA.

But Johns’ ability to restore characters to their original glory does not stop with DC’s greatest heroes. No, he has left his mark on the villains as well, creating and revamping some of the scariest villains in DC’s arsenal. From his work on The Sinestro Corps War, and his run on The Flash he has placed Sinestro, Superboy-Prime, Cyborg Superman and The Rogue's Gallery of The Flash back atop DC’s roster of its most dangerous bad guys.

Now Johns is reintroducing the most evil super computer of all, Brainiac, in the pages of Action Comics. Along with artist Gary Frank, the new arc, entitled “Brainiac” begins in Action Comics #866, in stores today.

First appearing in Action Comics #242 as a bald, green-skinned humanoid, Brainiac is the machine responsible for destroying Krypton and shrinking the city of Kandor down to bottle size. This five-issue arc will attempt to reintroduce the character who is arguably one of Superman’s most dangerous enemies back into the DCU.

I had a chance to speak to Geoff Johns about the new arc in Action Comics and the experience of working with his mentor, Richard Donner.

CMix: You started off in the business as Richard Donner’s assistant and eventually co-wrote an arc of Action Comics with him. Could you tell us what that experience was like and a little bit about your relationship with him now?

GJ: He’s been a big part of my life for a long time now. He taught me a lot of things about writing, production and life in general when I worked for him. We grew really close and obviously he’s my mentor. I started writing comics when I was working for him, and he loves comics, so he would see the stuff that I was working on. It was funny because he would see Alan Scott and say, “Oh, Green Lantern.” He knew the old guys, the really old guys, because he read that stuff when he was young. That was really fun to see.

So working with him was just a pleasure because I got to take everything that I learned from working for him, and from writing comics over the last several years, and then work with him on something. It was a real personal experience for me on a lot of levels. It’s a dream come true to get to work with him. Superman: The Movie is my favorite movie ever! Dick is one of my favorite directors of all time! And to be able to work in tandem with him on something like Superman is cool. When that hardcover comes out, that’s going to be the thing that I give to anybody who asks me what I do. I’m really proud of that book.

CMix: Did you ever have a Twilight Zone type moment, when you realized that you were writing about Superman and General Zod with Richard Donner? Was it kind of surreal?

GJ: Yeah, I have a lot of those moments, because I really do have one of the greatest jobs in the universe. And to get to do that with a guy like Adam Kubert and then Richard Donner, it was just pretty amazing. I’m very, very fortunate.

CMix: As a fan of Superman yourself, what direction would you like to see the Superman film franchise start to go in?

GJ: I would love to see Superman go up against Brainiac. It’s that simple. There’s stuff in this “Brainiac” arc that I would love to see on the screen. But I’d love to see a real, emotionally charged epic where he can actually go up against a villain who can hold his own against him and actually make Superman look weak. I want someone who can scare Superman and really is a threat to him. The only (movie) villain that he ever fought that really came close is Zod. Since then, on screen, he’s never really battled somebody who could go toe-to-toe with Superman. That’s what I want to see and I want Superman to overcome that challenge.

But I also want to see Superman fight someone that’s going to mean something to him. I don’t know how much Doomsday means to him on a personal level. So I’d like to see it be somebody who has a personal connection to him, so that Superman has a stake in it. I want to see a great Superman movie that still has the warmth and the heart that the original one has. That’s what I would like to see.

There are a lot of things that I like about all of the Superman films, but I do miss having him go head-to-head with a guy. I don’t know when the last time we saw two guys who can fly or take a punch that could send them through a few buildings, really going at it. It would just be cool to see that. But I’d love to see Brainiac, definitely Brainiac.

I really love the festering boil of hate this thread is. I'll never understand obsessively talking about how bad a film no one has seen yet is going to be, or people who obsessively talk about how they aren't gonna see the film.... Is it worth getting worked up into a nice frothy rage? Not a chance. Not a chance in hell.

in my opinion, geoff johns would be ideal for the project. he has a background in film, has a great knowledge of superman, and has written what have been some of the best superman books in recent memory. he is definitely inspired in some ways by the donner verse, but doesnt push it nearly as much as singer did.

Yep. Reading the interview, my mind was saying "I bet Johns will say Brainiac" & he did indeed. WB should be smart enough to have Singer use Brainiac with how almost everyone is asking to see him onscreen. And they should hire Johns if they haven't got any writers yet. Even Donnor would support that & maybe talk to Singer about him.

Sure. But they'd have to offer him first, because I don't see him rushing to write it. Or is he? Has he said anything?

Don't know if he has. I'd be all for him coming on board as a consultant or as a second writer like they're doing on Green Lantern.

When Singer appeared at Comic Con post SR he was anticipating reading Johns and Donner's take on the character.

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Published on Saturday, July 22, 2006 - 5:22am

- Fan asked about Brainiac. At this point Donner had joined him. Singer said, "Can't say." But later mentioned Superman having an "alien" problem in the next one. He also said he wanted to wait to see what Donner is doing with Brainiac. At another panel, Donner told the room that he was writing Action Comics stories with Geoff Johns, his former assistant and now fan favorite DC writer. At this panel Donner said he loved Brainiac. So, expect to see him show up somewhere.

People need to cut the s*** with the Donnerverse. Yes, he made a fine Superman film, which spun-off a half-decent sequel, two crappy "movies" and a boring as hell rehash by Bryan Singer. Enough is enough. Do you think that Christopher Nolan had Burton's or Shumacher's vision of Batman in mind when making Batman Begins or The Dark Knight? No. He was doing a reboot, and it did wonders. He was making his own movie with his own vision, while paying respect to the comics. I think that Singer should have done the same, and hope that whoever does the sequel will keep that in mind.

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Originally Posted by Slushy's Burn Book

Don't debate Sawyer. He is the nastiest skank ***** I've ever met. DO NOT TRUST HIM. He is a fugly ****!

Wow....everything Johns says about how Braniac should be portrayed onscreen is spot on IMO. I especially like his comments in the end of this interview on how he thinks the next Superman film should progress. Good stuff! Sorry if this old....but check it out for those who haven't read it.....

Even if he wasn't a writer but a consultant would be great, he has the ability to take villains and make them relevant, take a look at what he did with zod, ursa and non, and you will want to see them in a film as well.

People need to cut the s*** with the Donnerverse. Yes, he made a fine Superman film, which spun-off a half-decent sequel, two crappy "movies" and a boring as hell rehash by Bryan Singer. Enough is enough. Do you think that Christopher Nolan had Burton's or Shumacher's vision of Batman in mind when making Batman Begins or The Dark Knight? No. He was doing a reboot, and it did wonders. He was making his own movie with his own vision, while paying respect to the comics. I think that Singer should have done the same, and hope that whoever does the sequel will keep that in mind.

I actually got a chance to meet Geoff Johns a few weeks ago at a local comic shop, and I gotta say, he's a really, really nice guy who seems to love to talk to the fans. I did bring up how much I'd love for him to be involved in either the Green Lantern or Superman franchises and he pretty much responded with "Dude, I'd kill to work on them". He also told a funny story of trying to pitch a GL movie with Richard Donner to Warners several years ago, and the suits at Warners said " Does he need to have a ring? No one will buy a magic ring." A year later, Lord of the Rings comes out. Go Figure.

People need to cut the s*** with the Donnerverse. Yes, he made a fine Superman film, which spun-off a half-decent sequel, two crappy "movies" and a boring as hell rehash by Bryan Singer. Enough is enough. Do you think that Christopher Nolan had Burton's or Shumacher's vision of Batman in mind when making Batman Begins or The Dark Knight? No. He was doing a reboot, and it did wonders. He was making his own movie with his own vision, while paying respect to the comics. I think that Singer should have done the same, and hope that whoever does the sequel will keep that in mind.

Considering that the Donner movies are now influencing the Superman comics big time and they've had a huge impact on the Superman mythos I'd say that people shouldn't cut the s*** with the Donnerverse. Even 30 years later it is still a very relevant piece of Superman unlike the Burton/Schumaker Batman films which aren't even 20 years old.

Although with the reception the Dark Knight is getting, I can see DC Nolanizing the Batman comics in the near future just like they're Donnerizing the Superman comics.

Considering that the Donner movies are now influencing the Superman comics big time and they've had a huge impact on the Superman mythos I'd say that people shouldn't cut the s*** with the Donnerverse. Even 30 years later it is still a very relevant piece of Superman unlike the Burton/Schumaker Batman films which aren't even 20 years old.

Although with the reception the Dark Knight is getting, I can see DC Nolanizing the Batman comics in the near future just like they're Donnerizing the Superman comics.

I think that is a huge testament to Donner's film. I always get a little frustrated when people bash Singer with comments like "Singer only knows the Donner universe. Or STM is all the research he did."

STM and what Donner did was another spin on the mythos and clearly made people fans of Superman. As you said hippie, it has made an impact on comic writers as well.